Men’s basketball tops Beavers, falls to Ducks in Oregon road trip


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Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu has averaged 20.5 points and 11 rebounds over the Trojans’ past two games. (James Wolfe | Daily Trojan)

The USC men’s basketball team split a pair of games on its Oregon road trip, losing to No. 12 Oregon Thursday and easily handling Oregon State Saturday. 

After beating the Stanford Cardinal in one of the most improbable comebacks in college basketball this season, the Trojans entered their game against the Ducks in sole possession of first place. USC’s time at the top was short-lived, however, as it fell in a double-overtime thriller, 79-70.

Trailing for most of the game, USC caught fire and came back to tie things up at the end of regulation. The first overtime period did not have much action as both teams scored just 5 points each. In the second overtime, however, USC appeared fatigued and Oregon stepped on the gas to pull away.

The dual-threat of guards junior Chris Duarte and senior Payton Pritchard combined for 54 total points to lead the charge for Ducks. USC freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to keep the Trojans in the game.

“You’ve got to take care of the ball,” USC head coach Andy Enfield said, per USC Athletics. “Some ill-timed passes that went to the other guys. We just have to make the right basketball play. Give them credit, they’re a good defensive team.”

USC’s record fell to 15-4 while Oregon advanced to 16-4, and the Ducks moved into second place in the Pac-12 behind Stanford. 

However, the Trojans caught up to Oregon again in the conference standings after beating the Beavers in a 75-55 rout in Corvallis.

USC clearly put its loss to Oregon in the past as it went on to lead Oregon State 30-8 at one point in the first half. The Beavers climbed their way back into the game before halftime but would not force a lead change at any point as USC ran away with the lead late. 

Okongwu continued to lead the Trojans’ efforts in their win, scoring a team-high 18 points and recording eight rebounds in only 25 minutes of play.

“Some of [Okongwu’s] dunks tonight were just spectacular,” Enfield said per the Los Angeles Times. “The first one was good down the lane, and the one about a minute or two later was just ridiculously impressive. He’s a special young man, very explosive, especially with a running start.”

Senior guard Jonah Mathews did not disappoint either, scoring 16 points and playing tenacious defense in 37 minutes. 

USC had an offensive field day against the Beavers, shooting nearly 65% from the field while missing only six shots in the entire second half. As for Oregon State, it was a different story: the Beavers shot only 37% for the entire game, and the Trojans’ defense held them to only 28 points in the paint.

Oregon State senior forward Tres Tinkle led the team in points and rebounds with 17 and five respectively, but it was not enough to match USC’s offense. However, he set the Oregon State record at 35 straight made free throws, only to miss his very next one. 

The Trojans now find themselves in second place in the Pac-12 with a 5-2 conference record, tied with Colorado. USC will take on Utah at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Galen Center before beginning a tough stretch against Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State.